Barcelona set to miss out on main target

Marco Verratti has become Barcelona's number one transfer target this summer, with the belief of the Catalan giants being that he can add his name to a long list of legendary midfielders. However, his current club PSG are aware of his ability and appear to have no intentions of selling him.

Italian midfielder Verratti has become a crucial part of Paris Saint-Germain's team in recent years and manager Unai Emery knows that he will be vital in their attempts to regain the Ligue 1 title next season. 

Another team aiming to regain their domestic title is Barcelona. The La Liga giants are on the lookout for a new midfield maestro and they believe the creative ability of 24-year-old Verratti would be a perfect fit. 

Despite very publicly identifying their desire to sign Verratti and the realisation that they would have to offer a potentially world record fee for him, Barcelona have not been deterred in their pursuit.

However, Spanish media is reporting today that Barca will miss out on Verratti completely due to PSG's insistence on keeping their best players this summer.

Sport likens this deal to previous interest from Barcelona in Thiago Silva and Marquinhos, where the French club refused to negotiate a deal for their star players. 

To make things worse for Barcelona, Verratti has spoken to French media today explaining that stories suggesting he wanted to leave PSG were false and that he wants to remain with the Paris club for years to come.